High school boys basketball: Eastlake North manager, players inspire each other

Austin Siracusa is a part of every facet of the North basketball program. The freshman runs the scoreboard during practices, films the varsity games and fills water bottles and other duties in his stead as a junior varsity team manager.

He shot around with junior guard Jake Tanski on a recent day off before the Rangers girls team practiced. Then he recounted facts about earthquakes, one of his favorite topics, to Coach Rob Koelling, who learned the largest recorded earthquake notched a 9.5 on the Richter scale in Chile.

Siracusa not only precisely and quickly recalls the date of the earthquake — May 22, 1960 — but when he learned the particular fact in middle school.

One date hung prominently in the mind of the sharp 14-year-old, a special education student at Eastlake North High School, since November. After Siracusa tried out for the basketball team and Koelling named him team manager, Koelling told Siracusa his chance to play would come in February.

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So on Feb. 1, Siracusa was in Koelling’s ear about playing. After Koelling made the necessary arrangements with Chardon coach Chad Murawski, the Rangers presented Siracusa with his jersey at the end of their practice on Feb. 9.

Siracusa entered in the final minutes of the junior varsity team’s game on senior night. He scored six points and notched two steals in his first game. Siracusa was a bit anxious to play for the first time, but excited to play in front of his teachers in attendance.

“I was happy and nervous,” Siracusa said. “I was nervous I was going to play, but I was happy for (the teachers) to watch.”

But once he took the floor, the nerves went away and Siracusa said he felt relieved to play. He was satisfied by his personal performance, but estimates the Rangers may have won the game had he entered earlier.

“Well I had a couple of steals and I got six shots,” Siracusa said. “But sadly we still lost by 22 points. If I was playing for the second quarter we could have won the game.”

As much as Siracusa enjoyed his first game action, his teammates, coaches and classmates gained the most from the experience.

Tanski said it was “awesome” to see Siracusa achieve his goal of playing. The moment provided a concrete instance of the type of brotherhood Koelling preaches to his players.

“He was so happy out there,” Tanski said. “You could tell, for us to see that it puts a different perspective in our eyes to not only work for ourselves but work for our teammates and our brothers and our family.”

Tanski says Siracusa’s presence brings a happiness to the program, and he hasn’t missed a practice all year — a good thing for Tanski and his teammates as Koelling often puts Siracusa on the spot. He’s bailed the Rangers out of running and helped end a few practices early by knocking down a shot when called upon.

“When he makes the shot guys are high-fiving him and they’re excited for him,” Koelling said. “A lot of the excitement and energy he brings day in, he receives back from the team.”

Koelling credited Murawski and the Hilltoppers for the respect of the moment, which Chardon was more than willing to help accommodate.

“The lifelong impact of high school sports transcends beyond a winning and losing score,” Murawski said. “On that night, it didn’t matter what the score was, everyone won. We were truly blessed to be a part of Austin’s experience. Austin taught us how to enjoy the game of basketball, regardless of any score, with a smile on your face.”

Amid a one-win season so far, the events of Feb. 10 helped provide perspective to the Rangers. While Koelling and his staff teach their players the game, they also hope to instill values of commitment, dedication and sacrifice, which Siracusa’s minutes on the floor provided a concrete reminder of.

“Obviously we’re not having the season we wanted,” Tanski said. “But after seeing that, you kind of realize it’s not all about the wins and losses. It’s just more about building that relationship with each other and building our community, building that link not only between the basketball players but the whole school.”

Siracusa says “almost about everything” is his favorite part of being a member of the basketball team. He wants to enjoy the best of both worlds by playing on the junior varsity team while continuing to fulfill his duties as varsity manager.

He looks forward to next year, when he can pass along a little of what he’s learned from his fellow managers, Matt Hill and Tyler Sweeney, to whoever comes in below him. And a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt, as he hopes to contribute on both sides of the ball.

Whatever happens next will prove tough to top the night a freshman provided the most remarkable memory of North’s senior night. Siracusa helped share a lesson for the North players in valuing opportunities, sometimes taken for granted, to share experiences on and off the floor with teammates and classmates.

“How that moment made all of us feel and that night,” Koelling said, “that’s what we’ll remember as staff, as players, as a school. That’s what guys need to take along with them.”